


Loose Ends

by Vaitris



Category: Zombies Run!
Genre: Depressing, Gen, Gender-Neutral Runner Five, Mute Runner Five, Season 3 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-14
Updated: 2015-05-14
Packaged: 2018-03-30 12:42:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3937198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vaitris/pseuds/Vaitris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam has the right idea but that doesn't prevent this run from going pear-shaped.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Loose Ends

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place between S3 M19 and M20 so relevant spoilers.

“I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news. The good news is, you’re almost there. The bad news is, you still haven’t shaken your fan club.”

Runner Five and the half dozen or so zombies had left Sam’s camera range a while ago, but the groans still carried well enough that Sam could hear them over the headset. “Take a shortcut through those trees, that ought to slow them down.”

There wasn’t a moment’s hesitation as Five corrected course for the woods.  Not that Sam expected Five to doubt him, if anything the runner was a little too confident in the radio operator’s skills, but this wasn’t the wisest decision they had collectively made.

Five’s mission had been to nip out and grab some supplies on a path that took the runner out and around Jaime’s old fire station.  Simple, right?  There was another entry on Sam’s list of banned words. They’d been on the way back when Five spotted something scratched into the red paint of one of the broken rigs in the yard outside.  It was a message, nearly illegible except for Jaime’s name and a set of coordinates.

“A supply cache?” Sam pondered.

Five’s fingers had traced the messy ‘J’ inquiringly.

“Yeah, I agree.  Funny way of letting him know.” And, let’s be frank here, slightly ominous.  But Sam would be a liar if he said he wasn’t curious.

It seemed that not everyone had gotten word that Jaime was the new King of England.  He had been gone for a while now and never mentioned coming back, at least not while Sam was around.  And those coordinates were close by.  Within running distance, in fact.  What was the harm in jogging by and checking it out?  Whoever had left the message was familiar enough with Jaime that they’d known his name, so they were probably no harm to Jaime’s allies.

That was how Five got out past Sam’s cameras with one too many of the undead biting at their ankles.  Although the change of terrain idea _had_ worked. All the trees and undergrowth were slowing the zoms down and Five was finally putting some distance between them.

Sam let out a sigh of relief.  Simple.

Then Five tripped.

His camera view became a smear of green and brown and the audio a harsh crackle and thump of breaking branches and undergrowth as Five’s breath was beaten out of them.  Sam couldn’t tear his eyes away from the monitor, not when his runner was in trouble, and felt nausea clutch at his stomach as he watched the twisting fall. The sky seemed to disappear more with every wild tumble.  Runner Five had fallen down _into_ something.

When the view finally settled Sam swallowed back his dizziness. “Five?  You alright?”

There was a responding rustle as the runner shifted, getting their bearings, and the camera view bobbed up and down. He couldn’t see anything, dirt and foliage mostly, maybe something…

Five stopped, frozen midway through twisting themselves around to stand, breath quavering into the microphone.

“Five?” That was blood, dotting the forest floor beneath them.  Five’s headset craned so Sam could see the barb wire wrapped around the runner’s arm.

“Crap.” Several other curses fell from Sam’s mouth without thought. “How bad is it?” He could hear the runner’s breath, still quick from the chase and the panic of falling, catch a little as they surveyed the damage.  Wire snaked around the arm, another sliced through the side of Five’s t-shirt leaving a jagged hole, and another drew long lines of blood down their leg.  It might have been worse, but triage was interrupted by several more crashes of brush and Five’s head snapped up dizzy-quick.

The zombies, who weren’t able to keep up with Five’s sudden change of direction, tumbled into the ravine several yards away, moaning and writhing.  They attempted to collect themselves but, tied in a knot as they were, only managed a Three Stooges-esque pratfall that might have been funny any other day.  When they tried again, two managed to find their feet and begin a wobbly shamble forward.

“Can you reach your bag?”

Five twisted and tried, filling Sam’s screen with thick leaves for a moment, but the wire tightened on Five’s arm and pulled back. Sam could see fresh red scratches down Five’s wrist when the camera canted back down then shook side to side in a definite “no.”

“It’ll be okay.  Don’t panic.” Sam encouraged.  Whether the words were for himself or Runner Five, he couldn’t say. He wrung his hands. His runner was now struggling to free themselves, the slow unwinding and detangling made sloppy by their growing anxiety.  The zombies shuffled closer but Five’s hitched breathing betrayed the pain they inflicted.

Sam’s breath quickened as well, cuss words still flying through his head.  Of all the times to send Five out without a gun!  The wire was almost freed from the runner’s arm. But that was only one snag out of who knew how many?  With every second the shaking, bloodied fingers flew even faster. Five tore barbs out of their skin where they had been carefully extracting before.  But it wasn’t fast enough.

“Grab your knife.  You have to keep them away from you.”

The view bounced up to the zombies, who were nearly within reach, and just as quickly dropped back as Five tried to reach down to their ankle holster.  Then the scritch of metal on metal almost had Sam tearing his headset off. The groans ended in angry, strangled grunts at the same time that Five’s breath caught in their throat and stopped altogether.

“Five?” God, he wanted to do more than just call the runner’s name. “Are you okay? Five? Answer me.”

A small gasp, the sort of breath you take when you’re trying not to cry.  Five glanced back at the zoms who were now tangled in the barb wire only a few feet away, struggling and pushing forward without a hint of pain, drawing the snares tighter around Five.  Dusky gray hands reached out, grasping like a child for a favorite toy, but the zombies couldn’t get any closer.  They were stuck fast, all of them.

This was so much like a nightmare Sam almost pinched himself.  He gave Five a moment to collect, listening to the rapid panting over the line and trying not to grind his teeth too hard, before he starting issuing orders. “Take a look around.  Are there any more?”

Slowly, Five looked, sweeping the camera as far around as the wire would allow.  The rest of the original chase was still moaning in a pile at the bottom of the ravine, too tangled or broken to be a threat.  Other than that, the ruckus didn’t seem to have attracted any more of the undead.

“Okay, good.  We got this.  Don’t worry.” He scrambled for the roster.  They had time now, time to try a different tack. “I think we could use some backup.” Sam slid his chair across the desk to two more monitors and another set of equipment, flipping switches without even needing to read the labels. “Runner Four, Runner Twenty-Three, change of plans.  There’s a hardware store about six blocks from you if you turn right.” He left Five’s channel on as he redirected the other runners, hoping the chatter gave Five something else to focus on other than the pain. “I need you to pick up a few things.”

As he spoke, Five kept up the visual search like they’d been born with their head on a swivel.

“It’s a good thing Maxine can’t see you like this.” Sam commented when he returned. “We’d never hear the end of it. You’ve had your tetanus shot, right?” He tried to inject the words with a mirth he didn't feel.

Five shook their head.

“Wait, no?”

The runner breathed a shaky laugh.

Sam felt a smile tug on his lips. “You have to tell me these things. Don’t make me keep an immunization record on you like you’re some kind of overgrown retriever.”

Five managed to sound affronted.

“You brought it on yourself.” He watched the headcam pan across the woods. “In fact, I think Runner Eleven found some flea collars…”

The slow side to side became a vehement shake of denial. Five surrendered.  Sam managed a chuckle.

When he wasn’t talking it was all too easy to hear the moan of the zombies surrounding Five and Sam could feel the tension growing around them.  Five tentatively tested their bonds but the barb wire was merciless. The effort only managed to drag a dejected sigh from the runner.

Sam finally broke the silence. “So much for Jaime’s message.”

Five’s free hand appeared before the head cam, signing clumsily.  _Keep going._

“We don’t even know what we’re looking for. There’s no way I’m going to send you on some wild goose chase, not after all this.”

Another side to side shake of the camera - _that_ was going to make Sam nauseous if it kept up - and Five pointed into the trees.  The closest zombie made an awkward grab for their arm but came up short.

At first Sam didn’t see anything. “I don’t believe it.” He mumbled after a moment of searching.

Five’s breath rolled over the microphone in a soundless chuckle.

“How did we miss that?” Between the trees, obscured almost completely by moss and vines and looking very much like a large squat tree itself, he could see a cabin. “I wonder what’s in it.”

Five, in true “there’s only one way to find out” fashion, was already reaching down for the knife strapped to their leg. Luckily this leg was free, but reaching it even with their free hand was still no easy feat.  You could almost hear the barb wire straining.

“Keep breathing.”

Five had sucked in a breath and held it, deep in concentration.  One finger wiggled forward and edged the blade out of the holster, letting it fall on the forest floor where it could be retrieved easily.  The other end of the barb wire wrapped around Five’s arm was tangled in the undergrowth just barely within reach and that was where the runner started sawing, slowly and painfully.  Their trapped arm shook with the effort, the constriction making their hand appear a little gray.  It had to hurt.  Sam didn’t hear a sound from the runner, knew it was impossible, but still seemed to feel it in the twisting of his own chest.

“Five, wait.  Just wait, Jodi and Paula are almost there.”

He was ignored, and wasn’t altogether surprised to be.  If the runner's bull-headed pursuit of Eight after she had shot the major taught Sam anything, it was that Five wasn’t one for inaction.  So he let them go, fretting but trusting that they wouldn’t harm themselves more.

It was slow work but plants and branches snapped away one by one and the wire loosened.  It eased at first, then lifted away from the skin a little and Five unwound their arm hastily from the barbs.  The sharp movement brought the attention of the zombies around again. They had been getting bored, if zombies could get bored, and until now had been complacently watching Five squirm. They surged forward, buying several steps from the new found slack, and closed the distance.

Five fell back trying to escape and Sam was looking up at fishy white eyes and desiccated flesh from the forest floor.  He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen a zombie this close up before, or if he ever had.  The runner pivoted on their still trapped leg, scrambling backward in short jerky movements.  It was impossible for Sam to imagine the sting of backpedaling through more of that wire. The knife flashed up between the camera and the zoms.

“Watch out!” He’d been holding his breath without thinking and the warning came too late.

They were lucky the attack was clumsy and came up short.  The closest zom managed to snag Five’s arm in one hand, then was drawing it close with both, heedless of the blade.  Five pulled back as hard as they could, the zom strained against its bonds trying to get closer, and the two were caught in a perverse tug of war.

“Hurry!”

Five’s breath caught.  They slipped, tugged forward towards a gaping mouth. Sam could see the cracked yellow teeth and the waggling stump of a tongue and his heart almost stopped.

Then a gunshot rang out and the zombie staggered like it’d been socked in the head, not so much dropping Five as just going limp and falling sideways.  Another crack and the second zom, not quite within reach, followed suit.

“You’ve still got that pair behind you.” Sam reminded, maybe slightly breathless.

“No problem.” Near the top of the ravine, Jodi switched out the gun for a noise maker and jogged away, all business. “Bet you’re happy to see us, Five.”

“You have no idea.” Sam answered.

Paula slid down the side of the ravine, a more graceful descent than what Five had achieved earlier, and hurried over.  She already had thick gloves on and a pair of wire cutters stuck out of her pocket.  As she approached, Sam got the first outside look at his runner.

Five was still lying in the brush, relief in every line of their body as they watched Paula.  There was blood everywhere.  It was smeared across Five and across the leafy ground.  Their red shirt was darkened to maroon in places, especially around the collar where some deep gouges across Five’s neck and cheek had just barely missed important marks.  The condition of their leg and arm was difficult to gauge, both were caked in dirt now.

Runner Twenty-Three knelt carefully, snipping the final wire that held Five’s leg so tightly.  She then lifted the injured limb and began gently pulling it free. “It’s not as bad as it looks, Sam.”

That wasn't saying much considering how it looked from Sam's perspective, but he kept this mouth shut.  He was still winding down, his heart still beating a bit too fast.

She hissed as the bloodied wire came off, glancing up and down the other runner in swift appraisal. “Still, Maxi would have a fit.” Paula kept her expression carefully neutral as she pulled the last of the barbs free.  Five flinched.

“That’s exactly what I said.” Sam watched with mounting relief as Runner Five took Paula’s hand and climbed to their feet, legs sore and unsteady as they stepped out of the wire. “Careful.” Five gave the closest camera a bloodied thumbs up even as they wobbled a little bit.

“Maybe you should sit down.” Paula was still within arm’s reach of Five but the other runner sidled away, waving her off.  Then they limped stubbornly in the direction of the cabin.  Muttering unhappily under her breath, she followed.

The inside of the cabin was dark and dusty and Sam immediately felt his stomach clench when he heard the buzz of flies. Below eye level on the wall by the door was a crudely drawn map of the cabin with the locations of various traps and defenses marked outside. “Well, that would have been handy.” He sighed.

Paula pushed open the shutters on a nearby window, flooding the tiny room with light.  It was cramped and overflowing with junk.  Pots and pans and stacks of dirty books were scattered across the floor.  There was a tiny stove, a three-legged table with no chairs, and a bed crammed up against the back wall.On the bed the blankets were heaped as though there was something underneath.

Five limped forward, hesitating only a moment before pulling back the covers and raising a cloud of dust.  Paula hung back, not uninterested but afraid.  Sam didn’t want to see what it was either, but he couldn’t keep his eyes from darting across Five’s monitor.

A girl.  Curled up as if in sleep.  But he knew better.

She’d been left all alone.

Left waiting.

This was why the message had been gouged into the side of a fire truck with a stone.  The writer was short on time because they’d been bitten.  Probably changed shortly after.  Sam thought back to the zombies that had pursued Five into the woods.  Considered what was left of the zombie’s face that had gotten wrapped in the barb wire. The father?  Out on a simple hunt for supplies?

Five abruptly staggered out of the door and Sam removed his headphones for a moment as the runner started retching.

“Come on home, guys.” If his voice sounded shaky, no one said a word.

<><>

Sam hovered outside the infirmary, waiting for Dr. Lobatse to leave before slipping in.  Runner Five was seated on the exam table still, shirtless but with a blanket around their shoulders.  Cleaned up, Sam could now begin to believe what Paula had said earlier, and something inside him loosened and relaxed.  Deep in thought, they appeared overly interested in the missing article of clothing in their lap and didn’t notice Sam right away.

“You need help with that?”

Five glanced up, maybe startled, it was hard to tell underneath a thick layer of exhaustion.  _Thirty-six stitches,_ they signed.

Sam winced.

 _The doctor’s putting me on rest break._   The fatigue slipped a little and Five looked annoyed.

“That’s alright.” Sam conceded. “We’re still going through everything you retrieved from treetop base.  You have time for a break.”

Five seemed to deflate, their expression turning sad and cross.   _Not exactly a win._

Sam hadn’t been able to get Ed and Molly out of his head all day and he tensed.  What was there to say that hadn’t already been said?  It’s alright.  It happens. You can’t save them all. Empty sentiments.  He’d heard them so many times they’d lost meaning. They all knew these things, didn’t need to be reminded.  But that didn’t make it any easier to bear.

“Jodi and Owen are heading back out there tomorrow.”

Five shot him a look of alarm.  _Why?_

“We can’t…” Sam’s throat seemed to close up a bit. “She needs to be buried.” He shuffled his feet, avoiding the runner’s pointed stare. “Besides, Paula grabbed the map.  They’ll be okay.”

That seemed to ease Five’s mind.

“They’re going to destroy the message too. Can’t have anyone else getting into that sort of trouble.” Was it him, or did Five look just a touch sad? “But… if you want us to wait till the doc clears you, I suppose you can join in on a spot of vandalism.”

That earned him a smile and a nod, then a grimace. The runner’s hand touched tenderly at the scratches on their face and neck.  Sam tried not to fidget too much.  He always hated to see his runners in pain but with Five it was worse. Maybe it was the mutism.

Some of that must have shown on his face because Five gave him a look and signed, _It’ll take more than that to kill me._

And that revived all the confused emotions Sam had been battling.  Fear that Five might have died back there, gratitude they hadn’t, guilt for thinking that it was a stupid way to go – like Five’s got some predetermined destiny and that it’s to go out in a ball of flame or something equally dramatic.  “I know,” he mumbled even though those two words couldn't even begin to convey everything he felt.  They were all he could manage.

Five’s smile was back but it was watered down and weary.

“So, uh… you heading back home or are you crashing here?”

Five slid off the table with a look of “not if my life depended on it.” Sam stepped forward automatically, shoulder to shoulder with Five, ready to lend a hand if needed.

So he might be helping break his runner out of the infirmary behind Dr. Lobatse’s back.  There were a lot of much worse things going on in the world that this seemed to be one of the right ones.  And once he had Five settled in their room he was off to bed himself.

…after he swung by the Comms shack and added “shortcut” to the list of banned words.


End file.
